Five Years After Its First Candidate Training, Nation’s Premier Pro-Science Political Organization Has Raised $43 Million and Helped Win 229 Pro-Science Campaigns

March 14, 2022

PHILADELPHIA — Today, 314 Action kicked off a week-long celebration of the organization’s meteoric rise since its first STEM candidate training on March 14, 2017. Founded by chemist and former congressional candidate Shaughnessy Naughton, 314 Action has since established itself as a reliable partner to candidates and allied organizations, building a membership of more than six million grassroots activists and helping spark an unprecedented wave of STEM candidates running and winning races for public offices up and down the ballot. 

The celebration will align with the week of Pi Day (March 14th) and include digital, advocacy, and social media campaigns to amplify the impact of the organization’s supporters on the mission to elect scientists and the organization’s track record of success at electing STEM leaders to all levels of government.

“I founded 314 Action because scientists and STEM professionals deserve to have a voice in shaping the policies that shape our society,” said Shaughnessy Naughton, president of 314 Action. “From fighting the climate crisis to addressing inequities in our health care system, more scientists in office means more evidence-based policies that put people above politics. The movement to elect scientists has never been stronger, and we are eager to help even more incredible STEM candidates run for office and win.”

Since the inception of 314 Action, named after the first three digits of pi, the organization has used numbers to tell its story, and to mark this milestone anniversary the organization is highlighting its achievements:

Campaign Milestones

Development Milestones

In just five years since 314 Action’s first candidate training, the organization has grown its grassroots membership base to the more than six million supporters it has today and established itself as a powerhouse in progressive fundraising with an average donation of $32.

The support from voters committed to building a more pro-science future, and the opportunities that support has allowed 314 Action in engaging with voters on STEM policy issues, have been overwhelming. It has not just resulted in more talk — it has resulted in critical action in the fight to elect scientists across the United States. In 2018, we elected eight new STEM leaders to the U.S. House of Representatives, helping flip the chamber to a pro-science majority. And in 2020, we helped elect Mark Kelly and John Hickenlooper to the U.S. Senate before helping Democrats finish flipping the chamber by supporting Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in the Georgia runoff elections.

314 Action recently launched a $10 million, cycle-long advocacy campaign focused on engaging voters on critical science issues — including climate change, health care, and the pandemic response — and holding anti-science public figures accountable. Additionally, 314 Action has engaged its base of six million grassroots members to push for pro-science legislation at the federal and state levels.

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314 Action is powered by a grassroots community of over six million people working to elect scientists, doctors, and STEM professionals who will use science and facts to address our most pressing issues like climate change and health care. In 2018 and 2020, we played a pivotal role in flipping the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, electing eleven Democratic scientists to federal office, as well as in helping over 100 statewide, state legislative, and municipal candidates win their races. In 2022, 314 Action will continue working to elect science leaders and defeat climate deniers in Congress and legislatures across the country.